Bleu Unicorn writes...

I was fifteen when Gargoyles debuted on the Disney Afternoon and while ten years have gone by, I can honestly say my enjoyment and affection for the show have not waned. If anything, watching these remastered episodes exactly as they aired was an incredible treat for me. The first season was released years back on VHS and I own that entire set, but those old tapes pale in comparison to this set. A fact that not only was expected, but greatly satisfying.

Secretly, I was a bit skeptical when sitting down to watch the show again. Ten years is a long time - almost half my life! Deep down I was fearful that the decade of basic separation from the series had made my memories of it far grander than it was. My fears, however, were completely misguided. Here's a show that truly does withstand the test of time. And I really shouldn't be surprised, considering even when it first aired it was appealing to me and I wasn't part of that "target audience" - a fact which only drew me into the show more!

The series (in 75 words): The aptly named Goliath and his gargoyle clan are cast into a thousand year slumber, only to awake in New York City to learn they are now the last of their kind. While acclimating themselves to their new surroundings, they discover both allies and enemies alike. And soon renew their vow of protection that defines their species to include all of Manhattan and its inhabitants, both gargoyle and human.

Video: Here's where DVD transfer really can shine, but also where a cartoon can fall most miserably. Gargoyles, though looks absolutely stunning, the colors just look so beautiful. Not surprising with, considering the wonderful palette of colors used. I did notice some minor interlacing (mostly in "Long Way to Morning") and some dirt and dust in some scenes. But nothing overly bad. Definitely one of the best transfers of an animated television series I've seen.

Audio: The episodes on the set are all remastered and while for the most part the audio is superb and better than I remember listening to on my TV - Certainly an improvement over my ancient VHS copies - I did notice some odd fluctuation at times. At first, I thought it was my copy (or my hearing was going), but I've talked with other people and it's definitely not just me. It's pretty infrequent - I noticed it the most in the five-part "Awakening" pilot, but it was apparent in disc two as well.

Special features: I love special features, especially done well. I can't say I was jumping for joy over these, though. The commentary on "Awakening" was very interesting and entertaing, though I'm ashamed to say that anyone who isn't a big fan may find themselves kind of bored. (Of course, I'm usually bored by commentaries and as such rarely listen to them.) I always hate it when commentaries consist of long pauses of no talking, but you won't find that on this set! These guys - mostly Greg - have lots to say and they don't let little things like recaps and credits stop the flow of words.

The featurette on "The Gathering of the Gargoyles" convention was...okay. I didn't really find it all that interesting, but it was pretty neat to see. It's nice to know there's still a loyal fandom out there.

The original show pitch was pretty interesting to watch. It's the one thing on the set that shows how old this show really is. I'd already listened the commentary before watching this, though so it wasn't very informative or earth-shattering. Still, the original character designs were very intriguing - lots of changes were made from that pitch to what finally became. Stuff like that is just nifty.

Packaging & setup: Thankfully, Disney has never gone the route that Warner Bros. did with the horrid snapper cases. Instead, we get the standard double-disc case. Though, I can't find much love for the rather blah disc and cover art. And for a show with so much history...the only insert is just a chapter/episode listing - with equally blah art. The menus, though were really just...ugh. There's so much great artwork from this show that Disney could have used and didn't. And the animation? It was cool the first time, but afterwards I just found it annoying and distracting.

Frankly, considering how long fans have waited for this release, it's plainly obvious that there wasn't that much work put into the frills of the release.

Over-all: Scrutinizing this set is really hard for me. I'm finding myself quibbling over minor things that don't necessarily bother me because in all truth it really comes down to the content for me, which is just beyond amazing. Having the first season in remastered quality, uncut is like a dream come true. And I'm fervently hoping for a release of the second season to complete this collection!

Greg responds...

Ultimately, extras, menus, etc. can be nice or whatever, but one would hope that the prize is, as you noted, the content. The actual episodes.

Response recorded on October 02, 2006

Question received on Mon, December 20, 2004 12:55:55 AM

Toni Age 12 writes...

What is the name of Goliaths biological father. Would he have been long dead before Dark Ages? Was he considered to be "Good" or "Bad". Same thing for his mother.

One last thing Greg, don't give up man. I dare you to pitch as soon as the summer of next year.

All of Spin-Offs are good except (no offense) Pendragon and New Olympians.

Greg responds...

Hey Toni,

I haven't given up on anything in particular, but... pitch what?

As for the spin-offs, well, you're entitled to your opinion. I just don't agree with your assesment of either Pendragon or New Olympians.

And as to your question about Goliath's parentage, Goliath was raised by his entire clan. Most gargoyles in that era and in that location didn't have names and most individuals can't be reduced to "'Good' or 'Bad'".

Response recorded on October 02, 2006

Question received on Sun, December 19, 2004 10:01:55 AM

Rebecca writes...

Greg,

Is there a proposed release date for the UK or somewhere online where I can obtain a copy specifically compatible with region 2 DVDs?

Thanks.

Greg responds...

As I've stated before, I don't know this stuff. Sorry.

Response recorded on October 02, 2006

Question received on Sun, December 19, 2004 02:12:41 AM

Kenneth Chisholm writes...

Apart from the DVD release, what was Disney management's reaction to the fact that with Gargoyles, they had a series that has a cult following as intense as Doctor Who's or Star Trek's. Were they suprised, confused, pleased or what?

Greg responds...

I don't know that we do have a following as intense as Doctor Who, and I'm quite sure that we don't have one as intense as Star Trek. That's not meant as a knock against our wonderful fans, but face it if we were on Star Trek's level, we wouldn't be worried about whether or not that last DVD set was going to come out.

Disney seems happy that Gargoyles has a solid fanbase, and I think that one or two executives were even hopeful that the Garg DVDs might represent a more-or-less out of left field windfall for the company. That didn't happen. So I think we need to prove all over again how powerful our fandom is.

Response recorded on October 02, 2006

Question received on Sat, December 18, 2004 10:56:40 PM

Bob writes...

Hey Greg,

I was wondering could you please tell us more about these prosed animated projects,
Steven Spielberg's Cliffhangers, Sword of the Shogun, The Avenger, Blackhawk, Madison & MON-Ro, Rain of the Ghosts, Tai-Fu The Series, Treasure Hunters, Inc., & Small Soldiers: The Animated Series?

Greg responds...

Avenger is based on the old pulp character.
Blackhawk on the DC Comics property.

Both were proposed for Cliffhanger's which was Steven's idea to run a different five-episode action miniseries (with each ep ending in a cliffhanger) every week. We were never able to sell a network on Cliffhangers, so neither Avenger nor Blackhawk ended up being optioned.

Tai-Fu was going to be a video game that DreamWorks Interactive was working on. Don't know if they ever made it.

Small Soldiers was based on the movie of the same name.

Sword of the Shogun, Madison & MON-Ro, Rain of the Ghosts and Treasure Hunters, Inc. were all original ideas that I proposed and developed.

Sword of the Shogun was also going to be in Cliffhangers.

Garg fans who came to the 1997 Gathering saw the Rain of the Ghosts pilot as a radio play. That's the one that got the furthest. Nick optioned it, but passed ultimately.

Nick also optioned Madison, but Steven killed it.

Response recorded on October 01, 2006

Question received on Sat, December 18, 2004 02:17:50 PM

Rebekah writes...

Hi, I just wanted to say that I love the Gargoyles DVD, the scenes are so vivid in color and detail!!! In the scene where the Trio are exploring David's kitchen, I noticed there was a part that was never shown on the Disney version. That of Brooklyn checking out the stove, was this left out because of commercial time, or cause they thought kids would go playing with stoves if they saw it?

Also, will they be releasing DVD's of the other seasons soon? I really want to see the Mirror episode on DVD - it's animation should be really awesome! - Thanks!

Greg responds...

Episodes were cut for time by USA Network, and then for S&P content by ToonDisney. It is good to have them uncut again, huh?

Response recorded on October 01, 2006

Question received on Sat, December 18, 2004 01:57:37 AM

Charisma writes...

Hey there! Just wanted to tell you that I loved the DVD of Gargoyles. So, when are they going to have the next one out? It better be soon. I think the best part of the DVD was the commentary given by yourself, co-producer, and goliath's voice. The only downfall to that was that it was only for the first five episodes. It would've been better if there had been more commentary on other episodes. When you guys do another DVD, there needs to be more commentary than just five episodes. It would also be cool to have other voice actors for the series to come in and help with that. I also liked the main screen when the gargoyles would be stone, then come to life, and then turn back to stone, over and over again. It was done very well. I'd like to thank all of you guys who helped make this DVD possible. I started watching Gargoyles when I was seven (when it first came out) and now I'm seventeen. I've been waiting 10 years for this. Good going. *tear drop*

Well, I'm sure you have a lot of these to read, so I'll leave you to your unfinished work for the time being and I'll stop rambling on and on.

Greg responds...

Thanks for the ramble. Your questions and comments have already been addressed, so in the interest of keeping Ask Greg moving, I'm going to, well, keep Ask Greg moving.

Response recorded on October 01, 2006

Question received on Fri, December 17, 2004 11:39:25 PM

Duskrider Q writes...

Hey!

I just dug up a whole bunch of my old Gargoyle video tapes, since I bought the DVD. This show was fantabulous!

I love characters who grow, and I love Goliath. However, I noticed that in "Hunters' Moon" Goliath never lost his thirst or vengence. Even after what looked like Elisa's death, Goliath swore that the Hunters' moon would be the last moon the Hunters would ever see. He even identifies so much with Demona on this that he lets her leave!

In fact, it wasn't the first time we saw the extent to which vengence took Goliath ("The Awakening"), and the Weird Sisters reminded him not to become what he fought against ("City of Stone"). If you had stayed on past the first episode of the third season, where would you have gone with this vengence streak? I would have thought Elisa's almost death would have lead Goliath to reconsider his motivations.

Greg responds...

Elisa's "return from the dead" did. Hopefully, that's a lesson he's learned now. But you never know.

Response recorded on October 01, 2006

Question received on Fri, December 17, 2004 01:26:06 AM

Brandon writes...

Sorry. Just found tha tthe question had already been answered in the arcives. My Bad. Don't kknow how I missed it before I sent, but did. Sorry.

Greg responds...

Thanks for checking. Later's better than never.

Response recorded on October 01, 2006

Question received on Fri, December 17, 2004 01:17:58 AM

Brandon writes...

I first heard about "Gargoyles" why back when in 1993, or ther abouts when I saw Marina Sirtus at a Star Trek Convention, and she was talking about. Needless to say, I feel in love with the show after three episodes. However, Ihave always wondered if it was just the luck of the casting that you got so many Next Generation and other Trek cast members to do voices. Did Marina Sirtua and Jonathen Frakes have anything to do with the casting of fellow Trek stars, or was it just one of those weird little things that happend?
Brandon (PS Loved the show and hope to see season 2 on DVD soon)

PSS - Just in case some people are not a double fas as I am, here is a list of the trek stars (that I can remember) the show and the character(s) they played on Gargoyles

Greg responds...

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